Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), Oct 31 (PTI) A 25-year-old man escaped from police custody for the second time, outside the Coimbatore Central Prison entrance in the wee hours, police said on Saturday.
The incident triggered a political row in the state, with AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami taking a swipe at the ruling TVK, stating that prison breaks under the current administration have turned into a "never-ending television serial", apparently referring to the incidents of two prisoners escaping from the Puzhal Central Prison in Chennai recently, and the sensational escape of 17 convicts from the Thekkampatti sub-jail this week. The escapees in both incidents were recaptured and lodged in jail.
Police said the remand prisoner, identified as Raghavan (also known as Kozhikaran), escaped after pushing the police officers escorting him back to jail after a court appearance.
Following the incident, four police officers responsible for his security have been suspended for negligence, and the Coimbatore city police, in coordination with other security forces, have launched a massive search operation.
According to police, Raghavan, a theft and robbery convict, was produced before a Fast Track Court on Friday night and remanded to judicial custody. At around 12.40 am on Saturday, he was brought to the Coimbatore Central Prison complex. As police personnel escorted him between the first and second gates of the prison’s two-tier entrance system, his handcuffs were removed for the admission procedures. Raghavan pushed the escorting personnel away, broke free, and fled the premises.
This marks Raghavan's second escape within 24 hours and his third overall. He had previously escaped from police custody in June 2026 while being moved to Bengaluru. After being tracked down and arrested again on October 30, he briefly escaped from the Annur police station that same evening before being chased down and caught, only to escape again at the prison gates hours later.
It was only on Friday that newly appointed ADGP of Prisons and Correctional Services K Shankar took charge after DGP Prisons Sandeep Rai Rathore was shunted out following the daring Thekkampatti sub-jailbreak on October 26.
Launching a blistering attack on the TVK government, AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday expressed profound shock over the escape of convict Raghavan from the Coimbatore Central Prison, stating that prison breaks under the current administration have turned into a "never-ending television serial."
In a strongly worded press statement, the opposition leader pointed out the sheer irony of the security lapse, noting it happened coinciding with Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay's stern warning to jail staff to remain vigilant.
Mocking the state government's governance track record, Palaniswami remarked that jailbreaks have now earned a permanent place along with deteriorating law and order, rampant drug trafficking, soaring inflation, power cuts, and mounting public debt in the regime's "so-called list of achievements."
"Every time prisoners escape from places like Theni, Puzhal, or Salem, the government repeats the same old script about strengthening prison safety and placing armed guards on watchtowers," Palaniswami said.
"Today, just moments after the Chief Minister officially warned of strict action against negligent staff, the embarrassing spectacle of a convict escaping unfolded right at the Coimbatore prison gates", he said.
Expressing concern over how easily hardened criminals manage to breach high-security state prisons, the former chief minister remarked: "It sends shivers down one's spine to think about the potential crimes such desperate fugitives could commit out in society".
"If this government cannot even keep a secure grip on its prisons, how can the common public ever trust this regime to protect them?" he added, questioning the Chief Minister's administrative capabilities.
"The TVK coalition government's Chief Minister, Thiru Joseph Vijay, releases statements advising officers to perform duties with full focus, alertness, and zero lethargy. When is he actually going to follow his own advice and start functioning actively as a chief minister?" he asked.
BJP leader and former MLA of Coimbatore South Vanathi Srinivasan said the incident has cast doubt on the overall law and order situation in the state.
